Shocking Allegations: Woman Sells Toddler to ‘Witch Doctor’; Body Later Found Buried

A South African mother is facing charges of premeditated murder after allegedly selling her two-year-old daughter to a self-proclaimed witch doctor for £3,100. The child’s skeletal remains were discovered buried in a shallow grave near an abandoned mine, police confirmed.

On Monday, June 2, 33-year-old Kuneuwe Shalaba appeared in court alongside sangoma (traditional healer) Sebokoana Khounyana, 50, in connection with the death of toddler Kutlwano. The girl had been missing since February last year from her home in Saldanha Bay, near Cape Town.

Initially, Shalaba reported the child as kidnapped, telling police that her “son” had been snatched by three strangers in a Volkswagen Golf. But under investigation, cracks in her story emerged. She eventually admitted the child was in fact a girl and that the kidnapping never happened.

Suspicion deepened when detectives uncovered a large, unexplained deposit into Shalaba’s bank account just two hours before she reported the abduction. Phone records later linked her to Khounyana, who was tracked to a taxi rank in Randfontein. After his arrest on May 29, he allegedly confessed and led authorities to the burial site.

Shalaba, a mother-of-five and part-time loan shark from Boipatong township near Johannesburg, allegedly fed poison to her daughter before she and the sangoma buried the child in a shallow grave on November 10, 2024. The prosecution believes the murder was driven by her discomfort over raising a girl that she had reportedly disguised the child as a boy to avoid family backlash.

Authorities are investigating whether this case fits into a wider, chilling trend: fears are growing that some of the more than 1,000 children murdered annually in South Africa are being targeted for ritual killings and body part trafficking.

Post-mortem analysis is underway to confirm the cause of death and determine if any of Kutlwano’s body parts were harvested.

Both Shalaba and Khounyana have been charged with premeditated murder, human trafficking, and conspiracy to commit robbery. Shalaba also faces charges of filing a false police report. Neither has been granted bail. Their next court appearance is scheduled for June 5, when Khounyana is expected to seek legal representation.

Meanwhile, Shalaba’s surviving children, aged 6 and 9, are reportedly in the care of extended family.

This harrowing case has reignited national outrage and sorrow, shining a grim spotlight on the undercurrent of ritual-related violence that continues to plague parts of South Africa.